


The One with the Picnic at the Lake

by chasingbluefish



Series: Discord RS 24Hr Challenges [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Marauders' Era, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 00:50:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13447005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasingbluefish/pseuds/chasingbluefish
Summary: RS 24Hr Challenge Prompt 6!Sirius and Remus have plans to spend a romantic night by the lake but various intruders make things difficult.





	The One with the Picnic at the Lake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tpants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tpants/gifts).



> Alright, my dear friend Arty was responsible for this prompt:
> 
> “A bad idea”. Try to use: pink, blanket, horn, painting, gurgle, frolic, Giant Squid, broom, and abracadabra
> 
> I didn't hit all of the words but I hope I did it justice darling. 
> 
> Not beta-ed. All mistakes are mine as I wrote this quickly and past my bedtime. Cheers.

 

In theory a romantic picnic would seem like an excellent idea. A hidden niche at the edge of the lake was the perfect setting, what with the starlight and the intimacy provided by the shelter of the rocks. 

 

Sirius and Remus were rather proud of themselves for pulling it off. A thick blanket, a few pillows nicked from divination.They were pink but they tended to lend more atmosphere than their own offerings upstairs. Paired with a bottle or two of wine from Hogsmeade and a basket packed by the kitchen elves, it was positively amorous.

 

“Why couldn’t we use magic fire?” Remus asked, as they set out the few lanterns conveniently borrowed from Hagrid’s hut. 

 

“The bluebell flames are lovely but they aren’t the most flattering of hues. Not that you look bad in any light.” Sirius flopped down onto the quilt to sit cross-legged and reached for the wine. As Remus settled across from him the bottle was uncorked and because neither were old enough to care about letting the drink aerate, two goblets were swiftly filled and shared.

 

“Very smooth Mr. Black.”

 

“Why thank you. I do try.” A happy grin tugged at the corner of lips as he took a long sip. Fingers brushed and glances were shared. Remus leaned in to capture those lips in a kiss but a loud curse somewhere behind them startled them apart. Instantly the pair had their wands raised, Sirius halfway to his feet, when James’ Potter’s head appeared out of thin air. 

 

“For fuck’s sake Pads. Of all nights. Tonight? Honestly you two.”

 

“Us? You’re the one who just barged in on our romantic picnic.”

 

“Remus I thought you had rounds tonight?” A new voice joined the fray.

 

“Lily?” The werewolf queried, clambering to his feet as their head girl appeared behind James. 

 

“You’ve shown Evans your cloak?!” Sirius demanded as Remus tried to explain that he’d switched with another prefect. 

 

“Shut up all of you or we’ll be seen!” The girl in question hissed, grabbing her beau and shooting a glance at the other pair. Together they all dropped down and waited for any telltale signs of other intruders. Only the lapping of water and other signs of nocturnal life hummed around them. 

“Well this is bloody brilliant. Trust you to crash my romantic picnic.” Sirius grumbled, downing half of his wine. James looked similarly outraged.

 

“Ha! I’ve had this place scoped out for weeks. You’re the one who must have…”

 

“What, read your mind?”

 

“Obviously you knew what I had planned. Come on. Wine? Pillows? Luring Moony out here-”

 

“No one lured me anywhere. I came here on the promise of wine and good sex.” Remus butted in, scowling. 

 

“Me too.” Lily sighed. A basket similar to theirs was produced from beneath the cloak along with another green bottle. As Remus picked up a small puff pastry and popped it into his mouth, shooting daggers at James. 

 

“I would like to point out that I am the only one here not meant to uphold the rules. Two Heads and a Prefect. All out of bed and on the grounds at night. I’m actually quite proud of you lot.”

 

“Oh shut up. Clearly you and Remus need to go and have your rendezvous somewhere else. Do you have any idea how difficult it was for both of us to sneak out? We have Dorcas covering but-”

 

“I’m not leaving. I was here first. Take Evans to the Astronomy tower.”

 

“I will not. As your head boy-”

 

“Sorry, as my what? Did you mean big-head?”

 

“Listen here…”

 

“Wine?” Remus asked Lily, tilting the bottle in her direction. 

 

“God yes.” She smiled, holding her cup out to be filled. Sirius was pleased to see that James hadn’t thought to bring actual goblets, the swine, and turned back to continue defending his turf. 

 

“Walk?” This time it was Lily who offered and Remus nodded. Together they gained their feet but it wasn’t until they were fully standing that their dates seemed to notice. 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“Trying to salvage our night. We didn’t spend our day re-arranging schedules to get shagged only to sit and watch you two have a dick measuring contest. Lily and I are going for a turn around the lake and hopefully by the time we return you’ll have come to an agreeable conclusion. Otherwise we’re fucking off and finding something better to do.” Remus bowed. 

 

“And we’re bringing the wine.” Lily snatched the open bottle. “Let us know when you’ve realised a double date is the only real option left. Ta.”

 

Arms linked, the pair headed off down the shoreline. 

 

“Lovely. Good job Prongs.”

 

“Yeah, stellar work there Pads.” James flicked a mini quiche at his best friend. 

 

“What do you think they’re doing?” Sirius asked after a minute had gone by.

 

“Walking around the lake I suspect.” The sarcasm in James’ reply was scathing.

 

“Yes but…”

 

“ You’re really not leaving?”

 

“No. We worked hard to set this up. These pillows were a nightmare to pinch.”

 

“Oh! I knew they seemed familiar. Nice touch.”

 

“Thanks. Drink?”

 

“Delighted.” 

 

James opened the second bottle and quickly topped them up. “When they come back I suppose we’ll tell them that it’s now a double date. And back to the dorms.”

 

“Speak for yourself. There are plenty of patches of grass that are perfectly comfortable if you aren’t fussy.”

 

“True…”

 

In the distance they could see that their significant others were nearly halfway around the lake. 

 

“Watch…” The third bottle, the one James had brought, lay nestled in the basket still and with a quick flick of his wand and a muttered leviosa, it rose into the air. “That bottle they took was only half full. We can lure them back.” 

Sirius rolled his eyes but did indeed watch as the bottle flew out of their niche and began soaring across the lake. It was going rather brilliantly until a mosquito decided to join in and James let out a curse, one hand flying to smack at his forearm. 

 

“Fuck!” Sirius hissed as the wine went down with a loud splash in the middle of the lake. 

  
  


Lily and Remus had their backs turned and paused at the sound.

 

“What was that?” The wizard asked, turning towards the water.

 

“In retrospect we probably shouldn’t have left them unsupervised.”

 

“No. Awful idea really.”

 

Together they peered out across the lake, trying to make out any shapes in the moonlight but other than the odd ripple it seemed completely calm. 

 

“Right. Let’s head back then.”

 

Still arm and arm they changed course and made for the small flicker between the rocks. As they navigated the gravel and sand the cadence of the water seemed to change.

 

“...” Lily paused, stopping Remus.

 

“Listen.” 

 

Just as they tilted their heads towards the lake there was a quiet surge and a gentle breaking of the surface. At first it was hard to detect but slowly a dark shape emerged. 

 

“The squid?” Remus breathed, watching as the shape broke through the water. Deep purple marbled the slick skin as a tentacle slithered towards them. Spellbound, they tracked its progress and as it grew closer the redhead realised there was something stuck to the very end of its arm.

 

“Is that...a bottle of wine?”

 

“Must have been what fell in the water.”

 

Picking her way closer, Lily stood at the very edge and when the bottle was close enough, she very gently pried it loose from the suction cup. 

 

“Thank you.” She said, unsure if it could hear her, but she made a point of giving the slippery tentacle a soothing stroke as thanks. In response the squid curled around her hand as if to give it a squeeze and then slowly retreated back into its home. 

 

“That was nice of them.” Remus flicked a quick cleaning spell to rid her hand of the residual slime.

 

“Thank you!” Lily called out again, more loudly. There was an answering ripple somewhere near the center of the lake and Remus laughed. 

 

“Great. Another suitor James needs to fight off. He already thinks the entire school is trying to steal you away.”


End file.
